Chapter 216: Document Repository

That person led Duan Rong and Xiao Yu to the door of the East Yi Room.

He knocked on the door just once, and without waiting for a reply from inside, he pushed the door open a crack, stood at the entrance, and said in a deep voice, "They've arrived!"

Duan Rong and Xiao Yu stood outside the door and heard no response, but the person inside clearly answered with an action; the man pushed the door wide open, took a step back, stood to the side, fixed his eyes on Duan Rong and Xiao Yu, and said, "The two of you, please enter!"

Duan Rong and Xiao Yu walked into the East Yi Room.

The room was piled high with various account books and documents, and only Wang Dean was there, sitting behind a desk. Seeing the two enter, he stood up and said with a smile, "The two of you are truly exceptional talents; you really are the young elites of our Yuanshun Escort Agency!"

Xiao Yu had always disliked such empty pleasantries, but having lived two lifetimes, Duan Rong could rattle off such polite remarks with ease, so he replied, "Vice Chief Accountant Wang, you are so burdened with work and busy with a thousand tasks, yet you still have to trouble yourself to receive us two juniors; honestly, we feel quite ashamed!"

As Duan Rong spoke, his gaze swept over the few account books Wang Dean had been reviewing on the desk.

Duan Rong's flattery was clearly more natural and atmospheric than the blunt, awkward praise Wang Dean had offered.

Moreover, Duan Rong's expression was solemn and his tone sincere; even though Wang Dean knew Duan Rong was just being polite, a trace of goodwill couldn't help but rise in his heart.

Xiao Yu stood to the side and glanced at Duan Rong sideways, clearly feeling a bit put off by Duan Rong's oily behavior.

However, Duan Rong's ability to handle the situation made Wang Dean feel somewhat awkward, so he cleared his throat and said, "It is like this. The account books from the first month to the twelfth month of this year were already organized a few days ago and sealed onto the shelves in the Document Repository."

"These are the keys to the Backyard Accounting Office and the Document Repository," Wang Dean said, placing the two keys from his side onto the desk.

"The time for auditing the accounts is, by convention, five days. Within these five days, the two of you may enter and leave the Accounting Office and the Document Repository as you please."

Duan Rong glanced at the two keys and stood there without moving. Seeing Duan Rong remain still, Xiao Yu stepped forward and grabbed the two keys.

"Originally, two assistants were to be arranged for you, but the Chief Accountant's intention was to let you choose for yourselves. I have a list of personnel here; you two can take a look."

Upon hearing this, Duan Rong's eyes flickered; Xu Shouxian making such an arrangement meant he wanted to avoid suspicion.

Wang Dean said this while placing a paper filled with a list of names onto the desk.

Duan Rong glanced at the paper and decided, "No need to look. I choose Huang Qing."

"Huang Qing?" Wang Dean looked at Duan Rong with a strange expression, as Huang Qing was not on that list at all. "Huang Qing is still just an Apprentice Accountant, and he is not yet proficient in many tasks. Escort Duan, why not choose someone else?"

"No need, just him! Whether he is proficient or not doesn't matter!" Duan Rong said nonchalantly.

He hadn't counted on finding anything from the audit anyway; Duan Rong had already thought it through yesterday—with just him and Xiao Yu as novices, what could they possibly find? They would just go through the motions and muddle through the five days.

And even if they could find some minor issues, they couldn't afford to offend a big shot like Xu Shouxian.

Seeing Duan Rong insist, Wang Dean had no choice but to give up and turned to look at Xiao Yu.

Xiao Yu didn't look at the list either and said, "I heard you have someone in the Backyard Accounting Office who is number one at mental calculation—what was his name? Let's have him."

Wang Dean's expression immediately turned unpleasant, and he thought to himself: You really are bold enough to pick anyone.

However, he still said with a forced smile, "Miss Xiao is talking about Li Jun, but he is not on this list either! Moreover, he is Chief Accountant Xu's assistant; Chief Accountant Xu cannot do without him for daily account auditing."

"Miss Xiao, you had better choose someone else," Wang Dean said in a persuasive tone.

"Since the Xiao girl has chosen Li Jun, let Li Jun come over."

A voice suddenly came from outside the door, and then Xu Shouxian was seen waving a cattail fan as he stepped inside. He looked at Wang Dean and said, "The Manager said we should cooperate fully."

Xiao Yu had only heard of this person by reputation and had just mentioned him casually, never expecting him to be Xu Shouxian's assistant. Xiao Yu looked at Xu Shouxian and saw him gazing at her with a warm smile, looking completely unbothered.

Seeing that Xu Shouxian had spoken, Wang Dean immediately nodded in agreement. He then summoned Li Jun and Huang Qing and took Duan Rong and Xiao Yu to the Document Repository on the west side.

The side rooms on the west were the same as the east, consisting of four rooms: Jia, Yi, Bing, and Ding.

In fact, the Bing and Ding side rooms were used as the Document Repository.

The account books of the Yuanshun Escort Agency were usually kept for four years.

After four years, they would be destroyed. Otherwise, there would be too many account books and documents for the Document Repository to hold.

Generally, the year-end audit only checked the current year's accounts. Even if problems were found and needed to be investigated, they could only be traced back to the accounts of the fourth year prior at most. Anything older than that had already been destroyed.

The account books for this year had been organized and stored on the document shelves in the West Bing Room.

Wang Dean carried only one lamp as he led them inside and instructed, "The Document Repository is strictly fire-prohibited; you cannot light many lamps."

Duan Rong walked in and found that the room was not large, and it was filled with tall shelves. The shelves were packed with neatly arranged Wooden Boxes, and each Wooden Box had a wooden tag hanging from it.

Moreover, this room had only one door and no windows.

Wang Dean placed the lamp he was holding onto a desk in the corner, then turned back and smiled, "This is where the two of you will audit the accounts for these five days. For daily affairs, Li Jun and Huang Qing will assist you. If you have any additional needs, you can come to the East Yi Room to find me at any time."

After Wang Dean finished speaking, he walked out on his own.

Duan Rong looked at the Small Black Room before him and felt a wave of depression. "In such a dark room, they only give us one lamp—is this an audit, or a test of our eyesight?"

Li Jun said, "Escort Duan, please do not misunderstand; we are only allowed to light one lamp here as well. After all, this is a vital document area; if a fire were to break out, the consequences would be unimaginable."

Duan Rong glanced at Li Jun but ignored him. He still remembered clearly what Li Jun had said about him on the day he collected his silver.

The group stayed in the dark room for a while, and they soon adapted to the light inside.

Duan Rong walked to a shelf nearby and casually opened a Wooden Box, seeing several account books stacked inside. He looked up and saw that although the room was not large, there were at least ten or twenty shelves.

He looked at Xiao Yu, and Xiao Yu's expression was just as bewildered as his.

With so many account books, where should they even start the audit?

Duan Rong asked, "Are the account books for this year all kept here?"

Li Jun said, "In this West Bing Room, the account books for last year and this year are kept, totaling two years."

Duan Rong glanced at Huang Qing, who was standing there blankly. Seeing Huang Qing's expression, it was clear that this was also the first time he knew this. He couldn't help but sigh inwardly; Xiao Yu was still the smart one—thank goodness she had chosen someone who knew the ropes.

Duan Rong's eyes flickered, and he suddenly looked at Huang Qing and said, "I will first look at the summary account books for the twelfth month of this year; please help me find them."

Huang Qing blinked and looked at Li Jun. Li Jun glared at him and said impatiently, "South side, on the third shelf."

Only then did Huang Qing walk over and start searching on that shelf.

Xiao Yu was at a loss, not knowing what to do. Seeing Duan Rong suddenly wanting to look at the summary account books, she followed suit, looked at Li Jun, and said, "Then I will look at the summary account books for the third month."

Upon hearing this, Li Jun walked at a steady pace to a certain shelf on the north side, squatted down directly, opened a Wooden Box from the very bottom, pulled out one book from the stack of account books inside, glanced at the cover, and walked back.

(End of chapter)